


Determined to the Better End

by MrsKeatingsFanfics



Series: The 'Until the Beginning' Trilogy [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, POV Second Person, Post-Canon, Spoilers - Undertale Pacifist Route, True Ending Spoilers, genocide run spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 16:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7368154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsKeatingsFanfics/pseuds/MrsKeatingsFanfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set an unspecified amount of time after the Pacifist ending, Frisk becomes tormented by constant nightmares of death and dust. Seeing no end nor hope in sight, they are driven to do the unthinkable, the irreversible.</p>
<p>Can they be stopped before that happens?</p>
<p>Or will their life continue to be a never-ending cycle of torment and misery?</p>
<p>'Determined to the Better End' is the first in the trilogy of Undertale Fanfics I've written and establishes the basic premise of said trilogy.</p>
<p>Originally uploaded to Tumblr, this will be my first time posting to AO3, so I hope I'm as well received here as I was elsewhere.</p>
<p>Enjoy~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: suicide implication

You idiot.

_"B e g o o d , w o n ' t y o u ? M y c h i l d . . ."_

In this world, it's kill or BE killed.

_"T H A T ' S N O T W H A T I E X P E C T E D . . ."_

Kill...or BE killed...

_"I ' v e f a i l e d y o u . . ."_

Kill...

_"A T L E A S T N O W , I C A N R E S T E A S Y . . ."_

_Kill..._

_"d o n ' t s a y i d i d n ' t w a r n y o u . . ."_

_KILL..._

_"S o t h a t ' s i t t h e n . . ."_

_**KILL.**_

_..._

_......_

_........._

_I_

_k n e w_

_y o u_

_h a d_

_i t_

_i n_

_y o u !_

__******_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**  
**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_**

\----

You wake with a gasp. You find yourself completely drenched in a cold sweat, lying on your back, staring up at a dark ceiling. You're on your bed. You're home. You're safe.

But the nightmare still won't go away.

Your entire body is shaking. You feel sick to your stomach. You can't remember the last time you got a full night's sleep. Every night since the barrier was broken, the same exact nightmare has been plaguing your unconsciousness. Every night, you hear those words. Every night, you feel their dust on your hands. Every night, you feel their blood on your skin.

Every night, you mercilessly slaughter the most important people in your life.

You roll onto your side, curling your legs up to your chest, hugging them. You see something in the darkness. Something that wasn't there before. It's hard to see at first, but you soon recognize it to be a piece of pie, left on a plate in the middle of your room. An offering of love, most likely left there by the one you know unconditionally loved you.

Oh, how wrong she is to love you.

You killed her. Numerous times, you cut her down. Numerous times, you turned her to dust. Not just with her, but with the others. The others that have since called you their friend. You don't deserve their friendship. You don't deserve her love.

You don't deserve any of it.

The nightmare is real.

_A n d y o u c a n ' t t a k e i t a n y m o r e ._

\----

_Knocknocknocknock!_

"Coming!" Toriel called over the loud, eager knocking at her front door. She couldn't quite answer it, however; had to get her dish out of the oven before it started to burn. She would've used fire magic to bake it, but she wanted to try cooking more like the humans did. "I'll be there in a second!"

"well, you'd better hurry up, tori," a muffled, familiar voice said on the other side. "we're getting...chilled to the _bone_ out here."

Toriel snickered as another muffled, familiar voice yelled, "SANS!" in exasperation. Then, after carefully placing the breakfast casserole on top of a towel on the counter to cool, she wiped her hands off on her apron before opening the door to the two skeleton brothers outside. "Sans! Papyrus! Good morning!"

"mornin', tori," the shorter of the brothers said with a wink.

"YES, GOOD MORNING, TORIEL," the taller stated in his usual, grandiose tone. "IS FRISK HOME? MY BROTHER AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WANTED TO SEE IF THEY WANTED TO COME PLAY IN THE SNOW WITH US."

"Oh, goodness!" Toriel gaped as she saw how much it had snowed overnight. "It certainly came down, didn't it? Thankfully we didn't get... _snowdin_."

"nice one," Sans snickered, giving the goat monster a high five as Papyrus groaned loudly.

"Hee hee, thank you, Sans. Come on in, you two." She moved a bit to the side to leave enough room for the brothers to enter. "You can make yourselves comfortable while I tell Frisk you're here."

"will do," was all Sans said before tromping across the threshold, then plopping himself down on the couch.

"SANS YOU LAZY BONES!" Papyrus scolded, stomping his boots on the welcome mat. "YOU KNOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO WIPE YOUR FEET BEFORE ENTERING SOMEONE'S HOME!"

"seein' as how we're just gonna be going out again, i see no point in getting my feet clean just to get them messy again," Sans replied with a shrug.

"UGH! EVEN ON THE SURFACE, YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE!"

Toriel covered her mouth, stifling her giggles at the brothers' antics. "You two make yourselves comfortable," she told them, then turned toward the stairs leading to the second floor. "Oh, Frisk? Sans and Papyrus are here!"

She expected the sounds of bounding footsteps to come from the top of the staircase. Frisk always loved it when the two skeletons came for a visit. But when no such sounds were heard, even after and amount of time had past, Toriel pursed a frown. "Hmm, they must still be asleep," she guessed before ascending the staircase. "They haven't been sleeping well at all lately, now that I think about it..."

The two brothers heard this, but didn't have time to comment before the former queen disappeared from their views. "WOW, SANS," Papyrus instead commented to his brother, gloved hands on his hips as he gave the seated skeleton a worried gaze. "SOUNDS LIKE FRISK IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM YOU'RE HAVING."

Sans' expression didn't change, though Papyrus could've sworn he saw the slightest glimpse of discomfort in his eyesockets. "...heh, that's only because of all the hardcore partying i've done since finally gettin' to the surface."

He said this nonchalantly, though Papyrus kept staring at his brother, not looking the least bit convinced.

"speaking of which-" With one eye socket closed, Sans lazily grinned up at the taller skeleton. "-how is it that you're this excited over a bit of snow? i mean, we got plenty of it back in the underground."

Surprise registered on Papyrus' face. "WHY, SANS, I'M SHOCKED YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" After striking a grand, heroic pose, Papyrus continued, "THOUGH IT IS TRUE WE HAD SNOW IN THE UNDERGROUND, IT IS FAR MORE DIFFERENT THAN THE SNOW ON THE SURFACE. THE WAY IT FALLS, THE PURITY OF ITS WHITENESS...IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL IT MAKES ME WANT TO CRY!"

"i can see that, bro," Sans noted, seeing that his brother was getting misty eye sockets.

Papyrus flushed with embarrassment as he dried his face. "...AHEM, WELL, ANYWAY, IT'S THE FIRST SNOWFALL SINCE WE CAME TO THE SURFACE. SINCE THEY NEVER REALLY GOT TO HAVE FUN WITH US IN THE SNOW BACK IN SNOWDIN - UNLESS ALL THOSE PUZZLES COUNT - I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAD THE GREAT IDEA TO INVITE FRISK TO ENJOY THIS SNOW DAY WITH US! WHY, I COULD EVEN TEACH THEM HOW TO ICE SKATE! IF THEY DON'T ALREADY KNOW HOW ALREADY!"

"hey, that's a great idea, bro," Sans said, genuine encouragement in his tone. "you're so full of great ideas. that's what makes you so cool."

"I KNOW," Papyrus agreed, puffing out his chest in pride.

Just then, the sound of someone descending the stairs caught the brothers' attentions. "AH, FINALLY, FRISK! COME NOW! A GREAT AND GLORIOUS SNOW DAY AWA-HUH?"

The footfalls were far heavier than those belonging to a child Frisk's size, as the two skeletons soon came to realize. Toriel was the one descending the stairs. When she cleared the bottom step, Sans and Papyrus saw that she had one hand to her chest, her gaze was wandering back and forth, and that there was a genuinely distressed look on her face.

"hey, tori," Sans called to the monster, sitting up a little bit straighter on the couch. "what's, uh, what's gotten you so glum, chum?"

Toriel acted as though she barely heard his voice. "I-It's nothing," she shakily replied, eyes still darting around. "I-It's just...did either of you see Frisk come down before I did?"

The brothers shared looks between each other before the taller answered, "NO, WE HAVEN'T. WE THOUGHT THEY WERE UP THERE, IN THEIR ROOM."

"A-As did I. B-But..." The hand held to her chest started to tremble. "Th-They weren't in their room. Or the bathroom. Or a-anywhere else on the second floor." Her shoulders began to tremble, too, and her breaths started getting heavier. "I-I c-can't...find them..."

Sans rose to his feet, his smile faltering. This was the first time he had seen Toriel so freaked out. It rattled him, pardon the pun. _tori..._

Before any other action was taken, Papyrus' face lit up. "OHH, I GET IT!"

Sans and Toriel turned to the tall skeleton, both with the expression of slight reprimand for his lack of sympathy for the goat monster's present unease. Blissfully ignorant, Papyrus cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "FRISK! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD US YOU WANTED TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK _BEFORE_ YOU WENT INTO HIDING! BUT IF THIS IS HOW YOU WANT TO PLAY IT, VERY WELL! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL FIND YOU HENCEFORTH! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

He then went tearing off deeper into the house, searching for his hiding friend. After he left, the teeniest bit of relief washed over the former queen's features. "P-Playing hide-and-seek," she muttered, a shaky smile on her snout. "Hah, th-they must've hidden so well that I overlooked them. I'll just...search more carefully this time..."

She ascended the steps far more slowly than she descended them earlier. Only Sans was left in the room now, and he was not making any immediate move to join in the game. He just stood there, in front of the couch, as drops of sweat began coating his round white skull.

\----

If this was a game they were playing, it wasn't fun anymore.

Almost an hour had passed since they started searching, and still the seekers couldn't locate Frisk's hiding spot. The panic Toriel had felt when she first couldn't find the child returned, only far stronger this time. "M-My child, please come out," she begged as she searched beneath Frisk's bed for the fifth time that morning. "I-I give up! You've won! P-Please come out now!"

Not a sound answered her pleas. Her anxiety worsened. She rose to her feet, arms hugging her chest as she tried vainly to keep her breathing at a normal pace. _Wh-Where could they be??_ "Ah!"

She had begun walking to the door. Something squished beneath her foot on the way there. Squirming at the unpleasant sensation, she looked down to see what it was that she had stepped in.

A plate was beneath her foot. A plate stained with the squished remains of the piece of cinnamon butterscotch pie she had left for Frisk the night before.

"O-Oh, dear," she sighed quietly as she lifted her leg, then hobbled over to Frisk's desk, on which there was a box of tissues. "I-I really should have picked that up earli-huh?"

She had been primarily focused on making sure she didn't track pie remains over the carpet. She was keeping an eye on her foot as she reached for a tissue to clean it off. Her paw had touched something that wasn't tissue. It was thicker, and...wet? _What...?_

She'd been keeping her soiled foot off the ground. But as she spotted what she had touched, studied it, grasped it in her paws, the foot stiffly lowered back to the floor.

\----

"O-OKAY, FRISK! YOU HAVE GOTTEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO ADMIT DEFEAT! COME OUT AND CELEBRATE YOUR VICTORY NOW!"

"y-yeah, kid. _tibia_ honest, all this searching has worn us down to the _bone_."

Not even a pun made Papyrus' starting-to-worry mood change. It had been an hour since Papyrus accepted Frisk's 'challenge', but neither of the skeleton brothers could find them anywhere. They had even looked around outside around the house, twice; still no Frisk.

Papyrus rubbed his hands, an anxious look in his eye sockets. "F-FRISK, THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE," he announced as he and his brother ascended the staircase. "D-DID YOU FALL ASLEEP IN YOUR HIDING SPOT? IS THAT WHY YOU'RE NOT ANSWERING US??"

"c'mon, frisk." Sans hid his concern far better than his brother, but that still didn't mean it wasn't apparent in his expression that he was starting to grow worried, too. "you've gotten pap to give up. isn't that enough to satisfy you?"

No answer. Sans and Papyrus exchanged fearful glances. They silently agreed to search Frisk's bedroom one last time. Papyrus opened the door, and the brothers saw someone standing inside.

Someone who, sadly, was not the person they were wishing to find. "DID YOU HAVE ANY LUCK, TORIEL?"

Toriel had her back turned to them. Both feet were planted firmly on the ground. The bottom of one seemed to be covered in something brown and mushy. Her body was statue still, even when Papyrus spoke to her. It was like she hadn't even heard them come in. She remained this way, even as the brothers cautiously approached her. It wasn't until they were an arm's length away that she wasn't as statue-still as they thought.

Her arms, held out in front of her, were shaking. And the shaking was increasing with each passing second.

Now, Sans could hide his worry no longer. "t-tori..?"

" _Frisk!!_ "

The monster's outcry was all that was heard before she turned sharply and sped out of the room, nearly knocking Sans and Papyrus over in her haste. She tore off through the house, moving so quickly that she nearly tripped and fell down the stairs. But that didn't slow her down, and the last thing the skeletons heard from the former queen was her screaming, "My child, _where are you_?! Answer me, _please_!!"

Sans was visibly shaken by Toriel's sudden, urgent departure. Even more so considering that he got a fleeting glimpse of the look on her face before she left. A look of pure horror, mixed with grievous heartache. The sweat on his skull increased. _wh...what happened?_

"SANS..."

His brother's voice, unusually small and meek, called his attention to the desk Toriel stood in front of moments ago. Papyrus stood there now, and he was clutching something that he had picked up off the desk's surface. There was an expression on his face - one unnervingly similar to the one Toriel had - as his shaking arms held out to Sans what was in his gloved hands. "SANS...LOOK..."

The shorter skeleton's apparent worry doubled. With hands he could barely stop from shaking, he accepted what his brother offered, and turned his eye sockets onto the paper in this boney hands, reading carefully the words written there:

_It's my fault_

_It's all my fault_

_I don't know how it happens_

_I can't control when it happens_

_But it's all because of me_

_I know it is_

_I just know it is_

_How could I have done this_

_How could I have hurt them so many times_

_Why did I keep hurting them so many times_

_And why_

_Why did it take me so long to make things alright_

_To get everyone a happy ending_

_After every single time I_

_I_

_The nightmares_

_They're memories_

_Memories of every single time I_

_I_

_I can't take it anymore_

_It'll happen again_

_I don't want it to_

_I can feel that it'll happen again_

_And that I won't be able to stop it_

_I've never been able to stop it_

_I'm not_

_I'm not safe to be around_

_I can't_

_I can't stay here anymore_

_I don't deserve this happiness_

_I never did_

_I don't deserve to_

_to_

_I_

_I_

_I'm sorry_

_I'm sorry_

_I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorryImsorryimsorryimsorryimsor_  
_ryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorr_  
_yimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryim_ ** _sorryimsorry  
_** **_yimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsoyimsorryimsorryim  
_** _**orryimsorryimsorryimsorryisrosysismmsooosssyryrrsysorrsmsmsirsyisiossrr**_  
_**msrrysysioosryssmsrsoosrryissrmsrossrsoysmrosirsrosorsirsosrrsyisrsmryr**_

The phrase was repeated over and over again. It filled out the rest of the paper. Shaking hands written it so many times it was near illegible near the bottom. It had been re-written over the repeated lines, as if it couldn't be said enough. A giant black spot completely stained the bottom right corner, soaking through the paper with still-wet ink.

It was all in Frisk's handwriting. Frisk had left this cryptic message. That, plus the fact that Frisk was nowhere to be found, Papyrus stated, through the gloved hand covering his mouth, the most obvious conclusion reached for Frisk's mysterious disappearance:

"DID...DID THEY... _RUN AWAY_?"

Papyrus didn't wait for Sans to reply. In a blur, he whipped out his cell phone and dialed up a familiar number, all while he followed Toriel's example in throwing caution to the wind as he sped out of the room. "U-UNDYNE?!" he practically screeched into the receiver, tears in his eye sockets as he ran down the stairs three at a time. "H-HAVE YOU OR ALPHYS SEEN FRISK AT ALL TODAY?!??"

\----

Soon, there was only one soul left in the entire house. The owner of this soul hadn't moved an inch since Frisk's note was handed to him. His face was pointed straight at the piece of parchment, the direction of his gaze focused on the overlapping, jumbled mess of the words 'I'm sorry'. One eye socket had gone dark, was now completely pitch black.

The other began glowing in a vibrant, burning hue of blue.

The sky outside was dark gray. Snow was starting to fall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: heavy suicide implication/assisted suicide implication; emotional abuse

_"You really are no different from them!"_

_"You're the enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams!"_

_"Human. No, WHATEVER you are."_

_"You'll destroy them all, won't you? Monsters... Humans... Everyone..."_

_"Everyone's hopes. Everyone's dreams. Vanquished in an instant."_

_"For the sake of everyone, I will strike you down!"_

_"YOU'RE NOT JUST A THREAT TO MONSTERS... BUT HUMANITY, AS WELL."_

_"heh heh heh... that's your fault, isn't it?"_

_"You dirty brother killer."_

_"you can't understand how this feels."_

_"we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?"_

_"i can't afford to care anymore."_

_"before all this i was secretly hoping we could be friends."_

_"you're the type of person who won't EVER be happy."_

_"that's your fault, isn't it?"_

_"your fault."_

_" **your.** "_

_" **fault.** "_

This is all you hear now. Not the howling wind blowing through you. Not the crunch of snow beneath your feet as you trudge on. No; all you hear now are the accusations. The curses and hateful remarks in the voices of the dear friends you've made since going to the underground. You know they aren't baseless; not some cruel joke your mind was constructing. 

Because, you know, they once came straight from their mouths. 

Everything you hear them saying now...they're memories of the countless times they've said it before. 

And it eats away at your very soul to know how very right they were to hate you. 

The sky is getting darker. The snow is falling more heavily. The wind gets colder, chilling you to your core. Still you press on, grief and self-hate driving you closer to your destination. Your final destination, as you so desperately hope. The escape you know in your heart that you've yearned for, for longer than you can remember. The escape for you that will keep your friends, the people you love most, safe from the dangerous threat that you are. 

The escape where, as legends tell, all travelers are said to disappear. 

frisk. 

You're shaking head to toe. Your vision starts to blur. 

frisk...! 

Still, you press on, and soon you see an outline in the distance, the outline of your destination: Mt. Ebott. 

"frisk!" 

You stop dead in your tracks. Considering who the owner of the voice you heard was, you briefly consider snickering at the unintended pun you just made. That consideration is quickly snuffed. You're in no laughing or joking mood. You don't think you ever will be again. 

You know that voice all too well. It is the one that spat the most spiteful, soul-wrenching remarks filling your head. It is the one that belonged to the person who most wanted you gone; who fought the hardest to kill you. You turn to face the owner of this voice, part of you wondering why you even bother, knowing for sure what he's here for. 

Still, you do an about face. And, though the raging snowstorm around you two makes it difficult, you see the skeletal, heavily-breathing figure of Sans before you. 

"h-hey, frisk." Though clearly exhausted, his tone is as light and laid-back as usual. It doesn't make you feel any better. "wh-what'cha doing all the way out here, huh? _'snow_ joke that i was starting to think i wouldn't find you, heh." 

Cracking jokes isn't doing anything to better your mood, either. You take a single step backwards. 

Your action makes the skeleton flinch, you notice. "a-alright, alright, serious sans here. i'm just...just really glad to see that you're alright, frisk. that you didn't...you haven't done anything _drastic_ -" 

He takes a step towards you, bigger than the one you just took away from him. You step back again. 

You start to see the features on his face. You can see that his ever-present smile is wavering. "...c'mon, frisk. toriel, papyrus, everyone; they're all so worried about you-" 

He takes another step. So do you. You start shivering, and it's not because of the cold winter air ensnaring you. 

Suddenly, Sans appears much closer to you than before, though you didn't see him move at all. And it is with this closeness that you can see the one large, burning blue eye trained upon you, staring straight into you. Your shudders intensify. It's definitely not because of the cold anymore. 

"frisk...please..." There is desperation in his voice. He's pulling one hand out of his jacket pocket. He's reaching for you. You can't stop shaking. "come home-" 

Finally, you snap. "You, of _all_ people, should know why I can't _ever_ go back!" 

He becomes frozen in place, his one colorful eye socket still staring at you. You feel tears brim your eyes, then flow down your cheeks. The already bitingly cold wind makes the streams on your face burn, but this pain is small potatoes compared to the pain caused by the guilt in your heart that's tearing away at your very being. 

"...You remember." You continue talking to the statuesque skeleton, your throat starting to feel constricted. "Y-You remember...e-every single timeline, even after each 'reset'. Y-You told me as much. You remember a-all the horrible things I've done...over...and over...and _over_..." 

It doesn't help that your hand is still stained with ink from when you broke that pen earlier; it bitterly reminds you of the blood - _his_ blood - that stained it once a timeline ago. "You even remember when I killed _you_ , don't you?!" 

This outburst finally gets Sans moving again, if only in the initial form of a flinch. He seems to realize the state his eye is in, and has to blink multiple times before the sockets are back to normal. That, however, doesn't alter the not-normal frown his mouth is forming. 

Your hands form into fists. Your head turns down to your feet. "Still... Still, you tell me to go home. T-To go back to the people I-I've had no problem _slaughtering_ in different timelines. And just when...just when I finally decide to make sure their happiness won't be meaningless...!" 

More tears stream down your face. " _Why_...?" Anger rising in you, you turn your tear-stained face back to face his, and scream into the blizzard around you, "WHY WON'T ANYONE JUST LET ME _DIE_ ALREADY?!" 

It's at this point you remember something. Something from this timeline. From after the barrier was finally broken. You remember a question. A question asked by someone who once was an enemy. A question asked by a long dead prince in innocent honesty: 

_"Why did you come here?"_

And it's now that you fully remember the answer to that question. 

_"STUPID KID! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"_

_"HAVING YOU WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!"_

You feel a bitter smile curve your mouth. "It's...why I climbed Mt. Ebott the _very_ first time." Your tone is as bitter as your smile, your voice barely audible over the rushing gales around you. "M-My parents...th-they hated me..." 

_"WHAT A FREAK!"_

_"YOU'RE JUST A WASTE OF OXYGEN!"_

_"WHO'D EVER WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?"_

"I didn't...didn't have even a single friend..." 

_"STOP CAUSING EVERYONE TROUBLE!"_

_"STOP BEING SUCH A NUISANCE!"_

_"YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT, CAN YOU?!"_

"I-I thought... I truly believed I was every vile thing everyone called me..." 

_"YOU'RE SO USELESS!"_

"I thought...it would truly be better..." 

_"JUST DIE ALREADY YOU WORTHLESS SCREW-UP!!"_

"...if I just disappeared, like everyone wanted." 

You stare at your feet again. They're becoming buried by the snow. "When I first fell into the Underground, I thought that I had truly died, that the Underground was the afterlife, or something. But that, I quickly learned...was far from the truth." 

You shudder to remember your first encounter with a resident of the Underground, how quickly and... _eagerly_ that flower tried to engrave its personal philosophy of life onto you. "B-But then...Toriel...a-and I just couldn't understand why she was being so...so nice to me." 

You hang your head lower. Early memories of that first timeline crawl to the forefront of your thoughts. "I still don't know...why I...'did it' the first time. A-All I know...is how quickly things went downhill after I found out how easy it was to... _fight back_." 

Events after that first timeline are a blur; a dust-covered, blood-stained blur of images that have found a way to permanently remain engraved in your memories forever. "A-And I just...k-kept doing it again...and again...a-and ag-gain..." 

Your tears return in full force. You drop to your knees, numb to the coldness biting into your skin. Your hands grasp at your head, nails digging into your scalp. "E-Every timeline, e-every 'reset', it just kept getting easier and easier! I-I became worse than the people I ran away from! Over and over again, I became a murderer! And I just-I just wanted it to stop! But every time a monster got the better of me, every time I made it through the barrier, every time I thought it would finally be over..!" 

You hunch over on yourself. You're pulling at your hair so hard, you feel some strands being completely pulled out. "Th-The 'reset' kept happening! I-It brought me back to moments before I died! O-Or all the way back to the beginning! A-And I kept repeating the same mistakes over and over again! I-I j-just wanted it to stop...but it just wouldn't let me stay dead!!" 

You feel like you're gonna be sick, but somehow manage to remain calm, if only a little. "...I don't know how I managed...to get things right _this_ time. How I was able...to see how much everyone could truly care about...someone like me. I guess it helped...that they couldn't remember any of the horrible things I did to them before. B-But my nightmares...they made absolutely sure I wouldn't forget my sins. That I wouldn't forget how much I don't deserve their kindness, their friendship, their love...the right to live at all..." 

Your hands drop to the ground by your sides. You feel a hollow, empty feeling in your chest. "...This - freedom, unity, happiness - this is what they deserve. I'm a threat to their happiness; I don't deserve to be a part of it when, at any given moment, I could take it all away." 

You feel determined, but not with the same strain of determination that freed all the monsters from the Underground. "Before I came to the Underground, before _this_ time...I never thought my life could be so happy. That I would be surrounded by so many people that...that truly value and care for me. I...I don't want to make them all suffer again, make them suffer at _my hands_ again. S-So that's why...I have to really 'disappear' this time." 

A thought crosses your mind. Considering who you're talking to, then maybe, just maybe, your 'escape' isn't as far away as you thought it'd be. Maybe it's only standing a few feet in front of you. 

"...You wanted to do it before." You turn your tearful gaze back to the person standing before you. A tiny smile is on your lips. "You're the one who wanted to do it most. You have the most reason out of anyone to do it. So...go ahead." 

You hold your arms out to your sides, a sign of defenselessness as you look Sans right in the eye socket, and bare your soul to him. " _Kill me_." 

The only part of Sans that moves is his clothes, which are flapping wildly against his bones in the wind. 

"Kids like me deserve it," you tell him, memories of when he attempted to kill you coming to your forethoughts. "If it wasn't for that promise you once made, I'd already be dead where I stand. It's all my fault the timelines got out of wack, after all. And it'll just keep happening, over and over again, until I'm stopped. I have no idea when it'll happen again, when the 'reset' will take everything away, without a warning." 

You gulp heavily, dislodging the lump in your throat so you can finish saying what could very well be your last words. "I can understand how it feels now. How important everyone is to each other, to you. They're...they're important to me, too. B-Because of them...I finally have a justifiable reason for wanting this. And you have the most justifiable reason to pull the trigger. So...please..." 

Though hollow and numb, you are filled with determination. "Do to me now, when I'm weak and helpless, what you couldn't do to me before, when I was powerful and bloodthirsty. For everyone's sake, _please...kill me, Sans_." 

You feel as though this is the most you've ever talked in your whole life. You feel as though it wouldn't be a stretch to say this felt like it was the first time you've ever truly spoken in your whole life. Ironic, considering the fate you've resigned yourself to. All that was left now was to see if the person most fitting to seal this fate you've chosen would honor the final request of the one that truly made his life a living hell. 

And you know how Sans truly is. So you know he won't pass this good an opportunity up. 

The opportunity to make it that he can finally keep his happy ending. 

His always smiling mouth is almost completely closed, forming a line that betrays no emotion. Both eye sockets are full of pitch-black emptiness that stare through you, also betraying no emotion. He makes no move at first, and just lets the growing blizzard continue raging around you two. 

Finally, he walks toward you. 

You feel your heart pounding, basic instincts screaming at you to defend yourself from the imminent demise approaching you. But you ignore those instincts, because you know it's better this way. Sans will kill you, and everyone you've come to love and care about will finally be safe from the terrible power you never knew you had, and that you never could control. If the price to pay to guarantee everyone's happiness was your life, you're willing to pay it a thousand times over. 

Because the happiness they all gave you fills you with the determination to let your life end this way. 

He's getting closer now. His sockets are still pitch black. He removes both hands from his jacket pockets. You don't move a muscle. 

He stops, and is standing over you, eye sockets still emptily staring you down. Though you've accepted your fate, you still feel the tiniest twinge of fear, and peacefully close your eyes as a result. So long as the deed is done, there's no need for you to see how he does it. 

You know he'll do it. 

You know he'll never forgive a creature as deplorable as yourself. 

You know, thanks to him...you'll finally be _free_. 

... 

...... 

......... 

............ 

....................... 

...Did he do it? 

Did he get it over with so quickly that you didn't feel a thing? 

Or is he just letting your sins continue to eat away at you a while longer before putting you out of your misery? 

You don't want to check. You know, if you open your eyes now, and you see that he's gone with the second option, your resolve will be shaken. You won't be willfully resigned to accepting oblivion. Longer you wait, waiting for a sign that it was finally over, that you were finally free. Longer you wait. Longer and longer and longer-until a sign finally came. 

But this sign... If it was something you expected at all, it was the very last you'd ever expect. 

It made you finally open your eyes, only to find white and blue filling your vision. 

This white and blue, it's different than the white and blue you were expecting. 

It's the white and blue of Sans’ shirt and jacket. 

He's kneeling in front of you. Your face is against his chest. His arms are around you, holding you tightly but with a certain degree of tenderness. 

He's... _hugging_ you. 

"... _H o w_..." 

You feel like your mind is broken, that it is fully incapable of processing anything anymore. Your previous resolve is shaken. It leaves you numb, and it leaves you with only a single question in your barely functioning mind: 

"After every timeline I reset..." Your fingers feel tingly. "After every monster's dust I scattered..." Your arms begin shaking. "After every friend I betrayed..." Fresh tears spring to your eyes. "A-After...e-every time I k...killed y-your _brother _..." Your chest feels tight. " _How...??_ " __

You're overcome with indescribable emotion. You become too choked up to continue, but somehow, you know he knows exactly what you were going to say next: _How can you forgive me after everything I've done?!?_

"because if there's anyone who needs to keep saying 'i'm sorry' for the rest of their life, it's me." 

Your shuddering stops. Your breath catches in your throat. You're so stunned by this response, you feel as though you've turned to stone, or ice. 

"...i know what you're thinking. 'why is he apologizing when i'm the one who screwed everything up?' well, the answer to that is fairly simple." He pauses for a moment, and you can feel his fingers subtly clutching the fabric on the back of your shirt. "it's because, in a sense...this is as much my fault as it is yours." 

Even if you could find your voice, you wouldn't know what to say. 

There's a certain nostalgia in his voice as he elaborates, "though you were the first human i ever personally met, the first time i saw you, i felt that there was something different about you, something unique that set you apart from other humans. those suspicions were confirmed after the first reset, and i found that you retained a certain amount of memories from the previous timeline. granted, i had no idea just how much you remembered, but i digress. those first few times, i thought you were just a lost, confused little kid in way over your head and just trying to protect yourself to get back home. and, heh, i guess i was right, sorta. but..." 

He pauses again, and when he next speaks, you can feel the darkness in his voice as if it were a physical entity breathing down your neck. "after the next batch of resets, i began to abandon that theory." 

You wince, and you know he felt it. "sorry. not trying to guilt-trip you or anything. but i think you'll agree, we've put this off long enough. we need to talk...about what we both wish we could forget." 

You understand this, but that doesn't make you any more ready. You gulp nervously, bracing yourself. 

"...you got worse with each reset. i grew more apathetic with each one. i didn't care how many you cut down in each timeline; you were just gonna restart it all eventually, anyway. you just kept getting worse, and i kept refusing to actively do something about it. that is, until... _that_ timeline." 

Your innards turn to ice. You know exactly which timeline he's referring to: the one where you acted as though you'd never even heard of the word 'mercy'. 

The timeline when you fought and killed Sans for the first, and last, time. 

"after losing track of how many resets happened, i...snapped." He sounds disgusted with the way he phrases this, but it sounds as though he couldn't think of a better way to. "i grew so sick and tired of watching you kill everyone, then resetting everything so you could just do it all again, that i finally decided to do something about it. i decided that would be the timeline that i finally stopped the massacre, that i would finally... _beat_ some sense into you." 

He doesn't laugh, but you feel a spasm in his chest, like he's physically restraining himself from letting out even a chuckle. "and, well...you know how that turned out. but, hey, that's sans for you. a lazy bones who's actions are always too little, too late." 

It suddenly doesn't help that Sans' chest is the only thing you can see right now. It reminds you of when there was a big, bloody gash across it. A big, bloody gash that was caused by none other than you, many a timeline ago. 

You can't help the whimper that comes from recalling that memory. You feel Sans' hug subtly tightened. "hey, don't feel too bad, okay?" he tells you, trying to sound comforting. "i was, uh, kinda already prepared for that outcome long before you started swinging that thing at me. and, truth be told...part of me felt relieved that that was how it ended." 

You blink in surprise. A low-key somberness enters his voice as he explains, "part of me thought, after you did me in, that you would finally be satisfied. that after my death, you would leave the time lines alone. that i would finally...finally not have to go through it all again. that i, that everyone, could finally rest..." 

Before you can say anything to this - if you had the capacity to do so right now - a full, hearty chuckle makes Sans' whole frame shake with laughter. "heh heh heh, imagine my surprise when i wake up to papyrus yelling at me about how lazy i am. _again_." 

You crease your brow. The corners of your mouth turn down into a frown. For some reason, it's difficult for you to remember the timelines that happened after the one you fought Sans in. Aside from this current one, that is. 

"right off the bat, i was prepared for the worst," he continues, sounding somewhat tired. "i just kept wondering what kind of fresh, new hell was gonna await me this time, after i thought that it couldn't get any worse than the one i didn't survive. but then, when i saw you that time...you were different." 

The tiniest hints of relief and...wonder, you suppose, enter his voice now. "i don't know what it was, or what had caused it, but you were somehow different than the kid that had struck me down just before this reset. you had changed. and as time went on, i could see that you changed for the better. and you kept getting better in each timeline after that. sure, it took a few more resets, but hey, nobody's perfect. but you did it. you finally did it. you stopped resetting. and you stopped on the timeline where no one died, where everyone was freed, where everyone could truly be...happy..." 

You feel his arms around you slacken, but only a little bit. "and therein lies...the reason why i should be the one asking for forgiveness." 

Before you can wonder what he meant, he hugs you closer, tighter. You feel a slight pressure atop your head; he's probably resting his chin there. "i accused you of abusing a power i didn't then know you couldn't control. i didn't try hard enough to see that you were suffering from the resets, too. even now, in this timeline where i doubt things couldn't get more perfect, where i've been the happiest i've ever been in a long time...i can't make myself fully enjoy it, because i keep fearing that it'll all get taken away because of you. for all this and more, i'm truly sorry, frisk..." 

Tighter still his arms embrace you. "in all the timelines, my biggest mistake was thinking that you'd never change." You feel something wet drip onto your head. "i'm _so sorry_...for giving up on you." 

You feel one of his bony hands touch the back of your head. "so, please, don't ask me to kill you. i don't want to even try to kill another person ever again, especially if that person is...one of my dearest friends. and, asking me to forgive you is...kinda moot at this point. you wanna know why?" 

Even closer he hugs you, and you can practically hear the smile in his voice as he tells you, "'cause i already did." 

You don't know how he did it. Was it the hug he wouldn't release you from? Was it his beg for forgiveness? Was it him indirectly praising you for turning away from that murderous lifestyle you made a bad habit out of for who knows how many timelines? Was it him calling you his dear friend? Was it hearing that he forgave you? Was it a combination of all these things? Was it something more? You don't know how he did it. 

But, somehow, he has fully cracked your resolve. 

Hot tears well in your eyes and flow down your cheeks. Your entire body shakes with whimpers. You sniffle loudly, your trembling hands reaching toward the front of his jacket. Then, as your fingers tightly grasp the blue fabric, you press your entire face against him and start to wail. 

You cry out every conceivable way to say "I'm sorry" that you can think of as you sob into his chest. He does nothing more than continue to hold you close, and occasionally rub your back in a gentle, comforting manner. You can't remember if you've ever cried like this - so openly and earnestly - in your entire life. You don't know how long it's been, but it feels like hours have passed before you, finally, cry yourself out. 

"...got it all out of your system, huh?" Sans comments, his tone gentle and genuine. 

Crying your heart out really took it out of you. Your entire weight is slumped against his front, and your head feels so heavy you barely manage a small nod in response to his inquiry. 

"feelin' any better now?" 

You noisily sniffle, then nod again, albeit more hesitantly this time. 

"that's good, that's good. now, let's get you out of this weather. if i had skin, toriel would skin me alive if i brought you back home as a frisk-cicle." 

Somehow, you manage a weak snicker at the lame pun. He probably knows how unable, and unwilling, you are to move on your own right now, because as he stands, he lifts you up with him and begins carrying you in his arms. 

Despite there not being that much difference in your sizes, you feel small in his arms, like an infant kitten being carried by its mother. It makes you feel safe, at peace - at least, more safe and at peace than you've been feeling lately. 

"alright, let's see..." you hear Sans mumble. Your weary, teary eyes can see his head turning left and right, his eye sockets - which are back to normal - obviously searching for something. "tori's place is too far away, even though it's the closest... let's just find somewhere 'round here to stay until this storm blows over. 'kay?" 

Seems that amid the intense, emotional heart-to-heart between you two, you completely forgot about the snow storm you had wandered into before Sans found you. The cold registers on your bare skin. You start feeling tired. 

"hmm...looks like our safest bet is mt. ebott." Making sure you're secure in his hold, he begins the trek toward the great, looming mountain in the distance. "heh, i came after you to stop you from going there, and now it's the only place we can go to be safe from this blizzard." You see him give you a wink, his usual smile on his face. "that's irony for ya." 

It's much colder than you thought it was. You feel your eyelids starting to get heavy. 

"...as noble as your intentions were, you oughta know by now that killing is _never_ the answer. especially if it's your own head that you're putting on the chopping block." 

You know what he's trying to do. You can't tell if it's working. You can't feel your fingers or toes anymore. 

"and, from my stand point, i can see that there's a small flaw in that logic." 

Your extremities feel like weights are attached to them. You can barely see his face anymore. 

"you wanted to do this for the sake of everyone’s happiness. but you didn’t seem to realize that, everyone's happiness...it’d be incomplete if you weren't a part of it." 

You feel a jolt run down your spine. You're suddenly more awake, more alert. That jolt, it was a jolt of fear. Sans' statement has reminded you of one last fear he hadn't assuaged yet. The fear that ate away at you the most. The one that was the biggest, and most driving that dragged you into the dark mentality Sans was just barely able to pull you out of. " _S-Sans..._ " 

You think he slows down a bit from hearing your wavering voice saying his name. You still can barely see it, but you think his face is turned down toward you. "P- _Please_...I..." You reach one shaking hand towards him, your numb fingers clutching at his jacket. "I don't...I d-don't want...another reset...t-to happen..." 

You're scared. Your fear is clear, even though your voice is faltering. The alertness the jolt brought you is slipping fast, just as fast as your hand is slipping from the fabric of his jacket. You feel your vision starting to go dark. 

"...it won't." 

You’re so tired that you barely hear his voice. 

"it won't happen again, frisk." 

He's just telling you what you want to hear. You're sure that's what he's doing. 

"i swear to you, it won't happen again." 

You think you see a burning orb of blue before your vision goes completely black. You can't feel your body anymore. You're drifting off, and as you do, you think you hear his voice one last time, but its tone is so recognizably determined that you doubt he’s really saying what you think you hear him say: 

" _i'll make sure it never happens again._ " 


	3. Chapter 3

"aaaaand there we go. snug as a bug in a rug, or however that saying goes."

The view of outside the cave on Mt. Ebott was completely white; the snow storm had gotten even worse than Sans thought it'd get. He was thankful he was able to get Frisk out of it before it got this bad, before they caught their death of cold. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Frisk had only fallen asleep as he carried them up the mountain. Even now, the human child was still sound asleep. Sans had wrapped his jacket around them like a blanket, using its long sleeves as a make-shift pillow to make sure they were at least a little more comfortable as they slept on the cavern floor.

Sans was bent down on his haunches, one hand gently petting Frisk's unruly hair. "get some rest, kiddo," he whispered to them, knowing very well they couldn't hear him. "you've definitely deserved it."

Frisk moaned lightly in their sleep. Sans' smile widened a tiny bit.

He grunted a bit as he straightened himself, a few joints popping and cracking as he stood upright. A low groan came from him as he stretched his arms over his head, causing a few more pops and cracks to be heard. After he was finished, force of habit made him shove his hands into his jacket pockets before he remembered he wasn't currently wearing the thing. Chuckling at his oversight, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants instead, then walked a small distance away from the slumbering human child cuddled up in his jacket. As he walked, his eye sockets lazily looked over the mountain cave they were holed up in, thinking of the changes it had undergone.

After the monsters went free from the underground, and after a long enough time passed when both monsters and humans got used to living among each other, the motion was carried to seal up the pit to the Underground on Mt. Ebott; the pit that Frisk had fallen into what felt like a lifetime ago. It was deemed far too dangerous to leave alone; what if someone else fell down there, got hurt, and help couldn't reach them in time?

It wasn't like everyone wanted to completely seal up the Underground forever, either (the entrance where the barrier had been was still open). Falling down a seemingly bottomless pit was just too dangerous a way for anyone who wanted to go to the Underground to get there. So, the pit had been sealed up, and according to the humans and monsters that had collaborated on ways to seal it, it had been sealed in such a way that, even if a town-leveling earthquake happened, the pit wouldn't be opened up again.

The cave Sans was walking around in now was the very same cave the now sealed-up pit was in. The seal had been created in such a way that it blended into the rest of the cave's natural formation, no doubt trying to make it seem like there had never been a pit there at all. But, though it may have just been the fact that he was really looking for it, Sans could faintly see the outline where the seal met the natural rock of the cavern's floor. _sloppy on the finishing touches, i see. but, hey, if it gets the job done, who am i to complain?_

A small chuckle wheezed out of his mouth. He had stopped walking now, and simply stood there, with closed eyes, silently listening to the sounds of the storm just outside the cavern's mouth for a while. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled very, very, very...very slowly.

His eye sockets opened, and in them glinted the look of a thousand battle-worn soldiers long overdue for relief from duty.

"...What's EXP? It's an acronym. It stands for 'execution points'. A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your EXP increases. When you have enough EXP, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for 'Level of Violence'. A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others."

His eye sockets closed again, and he took a quick, deep breath before opening them back up again. "...i've long lost track of how many times i've said that spcheal. feels like i've repeated it so many times, i've been able to set it like an auto-play. it's the same with a lot of things i've repeated through the reset timelines. this one, specifically, is the monologue i suspect you tuned out the most, and the one you started tuning out the earliest."

His head tilted upward, eye sockets staring at nothing in particular. "at first, i always thought the anomaly was doing this because _they_ were unhappy. unhappy about the endings they were dealt. turns out i was wrong about them. and then, when i faced 'them' down..."

His skull returned to its regular, level position. The glint in his eyes gleamed more strongly. "turns out i was wrong about them, too. but at the same time...i wasn't."

He turned sharply on his heel. His usually smiling mouth was instead curled into a angry snarl. His right eye socket was deep, deep black. His left was deep, burning blue. Both were glaring so intensely, it was like this glare was the reason the phrase 'if looks could kill' was invented.

"the massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right. stopping and starting. until suddenly, everything ends. that _was_ your fault, wasn't it? _human_...no. all things considering, it's high time someone starts calling you by your _real_ name again. wouldn't you agree,

" _Chara_?"

To any outsider, it looked like the skeleton was speaking to empty air. To the untrained eye, it looked like he was fiercely glowering at a vacant spot on the cavern floor. The truth was far from this case.

But, in a way, the margin between what an outsider would see and the truth wasn't that great a distance.

The object that held every ounce of Sans' attention, every ounce of Sans' fury and suffering accumulated from countless of reset timelines, lay completely motionless on the ground. It bore resemblance to the outline of a heart, a razor-thin outline that was bright, bloody red in color. This crimson hue was what made sure the 'heart' wasn't completely invisible, but it also made it look like the 'heart' was completely hollow.

Fitting, considering it actually was hollow.

Sans' hateful glare, steadfastly trained upon the 'heart', narrowed. "what? you got nothin' to say? giving me the silent treatment isn't gonna pull the wool over my sockets, _kid_." He spat the last word with acid-like animosity, leaving a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. "don't mistake my aloofness for apathy. if you think, for one second, i'm ever gonna drop my guard around you-"

His one burning blue eye burned more intensely. "-you're _dead_ wrong."

No reaction came from the hollow 'heart'. The burning intensity in Sans' eye did not waver in the slightest. At least, not for the first few moments after the 'heart' didn't respond to his threat.

His eye didn't burn quite as fiercely. The tension in his stance lessened the tiniest bit. His eye sockets closed, and a forceful exhale was expelled through his nose holes-

" _Y o u ' r e   d e s e r v i n g   o f   a   s t a n d i n g   o v a t i o n ._ "

His exhale was cut short. At once, the tension in his bones snapped back into place. He had made an extensive mental list of many things that the 'heart' would do once it stopped playing coy, ordered from highest to lowest on how probable the action was. This action, however, was pretty low on that list. He was slow to open his eye sockets, and even though they were no longer pitch black or burning blue, the fury in them hadn't lessened a fraction.

Glowering sockets watched vehemently as the 'heart' twitched and squirmed on the ground before it, quite pitifully, rose into the air. It still squirmed and jerked in its ascent, even as it came to a twitching stop a foot or three off the ground.

Something started appearing around the 'heart'. Like some ghostly after-image in a picture, the incorporeal figure that was coming into focus was spectral in appearance, but it definitely wasn't anything like the ghosts Sans knew. The ghosts Sans knew looked like floating white blobs with faces.

This...'ghost' had a far more complex appearance.

Long-sleeved, green and yellow-stripped shirt. Brown pants. Scruffy hair. Pale skin. Rosy cheeks. Big, unblinking eyes. Unwavering, seemingly innocent smile.

" _B u t ,   c o n s i d e r i n g   t h a t   y o u   j u s t   r i p p e d   m e   o u t   o f   m y   b o d y ,_ " the incorporeal figure said, using the same dissonant, ethereal voice that Sans heard before. " _I t   m a k e s   i t   r a t h e r   d i f f i c u l t   t o   g i v e   y o u   e x a c t l y   w h a t   y o u   d e s e r v e._ "

There was no longer a single doubt in Sans' mind. The intangible image of the child that had appeared was exactly who he thought it was: The owner of the hollow 'heart'-no.

The owner of the fragmented human soul.

Sans' leer narrowed. "you and i both know frisk's body doesn't belong to you," he told the ghostly child, darkness in his voice. "it never did."

" _Y o u   a n d   I   b o t h   k n o w   t h a t   i t   w o u l d   h a v e   b e e n   m i n e ,_ " the child argued, their head tilting slightly to the left. " _A n d   i t   a l m o s t   w a s ,   y o u   k n o w ._ "

A twinge of discomfort made the corner of Sans' mouth twitch. The thought of this child, this...'thing' having control over his friend's body was one that would never sit well with him.

" _B u t ,   I   g o t t a   s a y ,_ " the child continued, its smile widening a centimeter. " _C o l o r   m e   s u r p r i s e d   t h a t   s o m e o n e   a s   p o w e r f u l   a n d   d e s t r u c t i v e   a s   y o u   w a s   a b l e   t o   p e r f o r m   s u c h   a   d e l i c a t e   p r o c e d u r e .   I t ' s   a l m o s t   l i k e   y o u   h a d   p r a c t i c e d   e x t e n s i v e l y   f o r   i t ._ "

He knew he was being taunted, so of course Sans decided to play along instead of losing his cool. "heh, what can i say?" Grinning a crooked smile, the skeleton casually shrugged his shoulders. "when you find out a soul-sucking parasite's been latched onto the soul of your very dear friend for who knows how many timelines, i did what any good friend would do in the situation."

" _T h a t ' s   r i i i i i g h t .   T h a t ' s   e x a c t l y   w h a t   y o u   d i d .   B u t ,   a n s w e r   s o m e t h i n g   f o r   m e ,   S a n s y ._ "

Suddenly, the ghostly child's eyes disappeared. They were replaced by empty, gauged-out holes that made the child's already unnerving expression all the more terrifying.

" _ **W h a t   k i n d   o f   f r i e n d   c a r v e s   a   d e f e n s e l e s s   c h i l d ' s   s o u l   u p   l i k e   a   p i e c e   o f   m e a t ,   a l l   w h i l e   k n o w i n g   t h a t   o n e   w r o n g   m o v e ,   o n e   c a r e l e s s   s l i p   o f   a   f i n g e r ,   w o u l d   b e   a l l   i t   w o u l d   t a k e   t o   K I L L   t h e   d e a r   f r i e n d   t h e y   w e r e   t r y i n g   t o   s a v e ?**_ "

Sans' sockets went dark. But that didn't last very long before the skeleton gave the ghostly image of the human child a wink. "i'd say a pretty damn good one, honestly."

The spectral child didn't make a single retort, so Sans continued by nonchalantly saying, "and, if i'm still speaking honestly here, i really gotta thank you for not makin' it that much of a challenge. i mean, c'mon, there's really no need to make it sound way harder than it actually was." He shook his head side to side in slight disappointment. "honestly, if you really wanted it to be a challenge for me..."

Abysmally dark eye sockets stared straight into the gauged-out holes where the ghostly child's eyes used to be. " _then you should've lodged what's left of that putrid, revolting soul of yours smack dab in the center of frisk's, instead of just clinging around its edges like a desperate parasite_."

Silence passed between the two dark-eyed beings for a spell. Then, with the straightening of its neck, the spectral child's eyes returned to its see-through face. " _H m m . . . I f   t h a t ' s   w h a t   y o u   t e l l   y o u r s e l f   t o   h e l p   y o u   s l e e p   a t   n i g h t ,   I   s u p p o s e   y o u ' r e   f r e e   t o   b e l i e v e   w h a t e v e r   y o u   w a n t ._ "

Sans' sockets remained pitch black. He didn't move a single bone in his body.

" _W h i l e   w e ' r e   s t i l l   o n   t h e   s u b j e c t ,   I ' d   l i k e   t o   k n o w   s o m e t h i n g ._ " The spectral child clasped its hands behind its back. Sans could see them through its torso. " _T o s s i n g   m e   a s i d e   l i k e   t h a t ,   n o t   p a y i n g   m e   a n y   m i n d   u n t i l   I   m o v e d   o n   m y   o w n ._ " The smile on it's face widened a fraction in seemingly genuine curiosity. " _W e r e   y o u   j u s t   h o p i n g   t h a t   r e m o v i n g   m e   w o u l d   h a v e   b e e n   e n o u g h   t o   n e u t r a l i z e   m e   a s   a   t h r e a t ?_ "

"...i might have," Sans replied, his tone casual and his smile in its usual curve. "my first priority after detaching you was getting you as far away from frisk asap. the one that immediately followed was making sure they were alright after having _you_ inside them for so long." A lazy shrug was given. "you just weren't that high up on the priority list there, bud."

The image of the child didn't respond. It only continued staring at Sans with its big, unblinking eyes.

"now that i think about it, yeah. at one point, i thought you wouldn't survive for very long without a host to leech off of. but then, i realized, that's ridiculous, right?" One eye socket casually opened. It was pitch black. "human souls still have that little, sometimes annoying, thing called DETERMINATION. and, despite that soul of yours being no more than a shell of its former self, you managed to survive for years - decades, even - before frisk came along. and that brings me to my next point."

Both eye sockets opened. Sans no longer smiled, but wore a bitter, suspicious frown. "other humans fell into the underground long before frisk did. you most likely had every opportunity to latch onto their souls instead. which begs the question: why frisk?"

The spectral child began rocking back and forth on its heels, its rosy cheeks getting rosier. " _H o w   f u n n y   i t   i s   t h a t   y o u   t h i n k   I ' m   u n d e r   a n y   o b l i g a t i o n   t o   i n d u l d g e   a n y t h i n g   w i t h   y o u ._ "

Sans said nothing at first, but eventually, a chuckle wheezed out of the half-grin on his face. "heh. figured you would say something along those lines. fine. if you won't tell me, i'll just start rambling off the theories i've been developing."

" _O o o h h ,   t h a t   s o u n d s   l i k e   f u n ._ " The image's tone was that of childlike wonder and eagerness as it clasped its hands in front of its chest. To hear that tone, to know just how truly un-genuine it was; it made Sans' skin crawl.

Or, it would have, if he had skin at all.

"...anyway, i'm guessing you chose frisk 'cause, i dunno, you had similar background experiences? or maybe, their background experiences made them an easier target for you to latch onto? i'm starting not to fret about the 'why' anymore; now i'm focusing on the 'when'. and my theory for that..." His smile faded away again, his expression showing nothing but loathing for the incorporeal child the fragmented soul was producing. "you latched onto them the instant after they fell into the underground, way back in the very first timeline. didn't you?"

No response from the ghostly image. However, though it may have just been his imagination, Sans could've sworn he saw its smile widen the tiniest bit.

The skeleton's loathsome glower intensified. "that's why the reset always started back there. that's why they got worse with each reset. that's why they - no, _you_ \- kept making the reset happen. with each reset, with each timeline that frisk killed; it was all to make you stronger. strong enough to completely take hold of frisk's soul. you were turning frisk into your personal, murderous puppet."

This time, it was no longer subtle that the spectral child's smile had widened.

Disgust welled up inside Sans, so much so that it appeared in his glowering expression. "so that's what you meant, when you said frisk's body would've been yours. you kept reseting the timelines...until you were ready to make them gain enough EXP to make your LOVE strong enough to gain complete control of them...to eradicate 'frisk' so 'chara' would live again."

" _B i n g o ,_ " the ghost child finally replied, it's voice like a song.

Sans' hands inside his pants pockets clenched into fists. He was starting to become extremely irritated with the sound of the ghostly child's voice, and everything else about the 'thing', too. "asriel was right. you really _weren't_ that great of a person when you were still alive..."

Something akin to revelation lit up the child's face. " _A h h ,   s o   y o u_ w e r e _l i s t e n i n g   i n   o n   t h a t   c o n v e r s a t i o n   w e   h a d   w i t h   t h a t   c r y b a b y . T h a t ' s   h o w   y o u   k n e w   m y   n a m e ._ "

Sans flinched as he realized the blunder he made in revealing this piece of information to the spectral child.

It's head tilted to the side again, and again its hands were clasped behind its back. " _S o   t h e n ,   I ' m   g u e s s i n g   y o u ' v e   a l s o   f o r m e d   a   t h e o r y   t o   e x p l a i n   h o w   t h i s   l i t t l e   b i t   o f   m y   s o u l   e n d e d   u p   p r e c i c e l y   w h e r e   i t   n e e d e d   t o   b e   f o r   i t   t o   f  i n d   F r i s k .   A f t e r a l l . . . e v e r y o n e   i n   t h e   w h o l e   U n d e r g r o u n d   k n o w s   t h e   t r a g i c   t a l e   o f   h o w   I   m e t   m y   d e m i s e   s o   l o n g   a g o ._ "

The corner of Sans' mouth twitched. He indeed did have a theory formed in his skull for this, but it seemed as though there was no need for him to say it aloud; the spectral child had already started doing it for him.

" _A s   i t   t u r n e d   o u t ,   d e a t h   w a s   t h e   b e s t   t h i n g   t o   e v e r   h a p p e n   t o   m e ._ " There was an air of nostalgia in the spectral child's voice, and something else Sans couldn't quite place, but would've made his innards uncomfortably churn, if he had any. " _H a v i n g   m y   s o u l   a b s o r b e d   b y   A s r i e l ;   i t   m a d e   m e   f e e l   m o r e   a l i v e   t h a n   I   f e l t   i n   l i f e .   A n d   I   h a d   b e c o m e   s o   p o w e r f u l ,   t o   b o o t .   I   f e l t   l i k e   a   G O D ._ "

Its smile suddenly lessened, and just as suddenly, the gauged-out holes replaced its eyes. " _ **T h e n . . . t h a t   g o o d - f o r - n o t h i n g   c r y b a b y   h a d   t o   g o   a n d   R U I N   E V E R Y T H I N G   b y   g e t t i n g   u s   k i l l e d .**_ "

Sans' expression darkened. The spectral child's eyes returned to their usual state. " _M y   g o d h o o d   w a s   s h o r t - l i v e d .   T o o   s h o r t - l i v e d .   I   h a d n ' t   t e s t e d   o u t   e v e n   o n e   o u n c e   o f   p o w e r   m y   g o d h o o d   g r a n t e d   m e .   I   w a s n ' t   r e a d y   t o   g i v e   i t   a l l   u p   y e t .   A n d   t h a t ' s   h o w   t h i s   p i e c e   o f   m e   e n d e d   u p   e x a c t l y   w h e r e   i t   n e e d e d   t o   b e ._ "

No movement came from the skeleton, whereas the spectral child started swaying left to right in an obviously giddy manner. " _T h a t   c r y b a b y   w a s   t o o   f o c u s e d   o n   g e t t i n g   b a c k   t o   ' M o m m y '   a n d   ' D a d d y '   b e f o r e   w e   t u r n e d   t o   d u s t   t h a t   h e   f a i l e d   t o   r e a l i z e   t h i s   p i e c e   o f   m y   s o u l   h a d   b r o k e n   o f f   w h e n   w e   w e n t   b a c k   t o   t h e   U n d e r g r o u n d .   A n d   t h a t   f r a g m e n t   b r o k e   o f f ,   y o u   g u e s s e d   i t ,   r i g h t   i n   t h e   e x a c t   s p o t   F r i s k   e v e n t u a l l y   f e l l   i n t o ._ "

The child's sways stopped, and its smile widened again. " _T h e   r e s t ,   a s   t h e y   s a y ,   i s   h i s t o r y ._ "

"...that's why you had the power to reset time." Sans' voice is small and pondering, though his glare is no less disgusted and spiteful. "that tiny fragment of your soul; it retained some of the powers it gained when it was joined with asriel's."

" _Y o u   c e r t a i n l y   c a t c h   o n   q u i c k l y ,_ " the spectral child teased, obviously knowing that Sans was mentally beating himself up for not realizing who the true cause behind all the timeline madness was until now. " _O h ,   w a i t ,   n o   y o u   d o n ' t ._ "

Sans fell back into silence. The spectral child decided to keep on gloating. " _I t   w a s   s o o o o o   e a s y   t o   n u d g e   F r i s k   t h e   d i r e c t i o n   I   w a n t e d   i n   t h o s e   f i r s t   t i m e l i n e s .   W i t h   e a c h   r e s e t ,   I   d i d n ' t   n e e d   t o   c o n t i n u o u s l y   u r g e   t h e m   t o   d o   a s   I   w a n t e d .   I t   d i d n ' t   t a k e   t o o   l o n g   a t   a l l   b e f o r e   k i l l i n g   w a s   a s   s e c o n d - n a t u r e   t o   t h e m   a s   b r e a t h i n g.   A l t h o u g h ,   t h a t   m a y   h a v e   b e e n   b e c a u s e   o f   t h e   f a c t   t h a t ,   w i t h   e a c h   k i l l ,   I   c a m e   c l o s e r   a n d   c l o s e r   t o   c o m p l e t e l y   o v e r p o w e r i n g   t h e i r   s o u l ._ "

The ghostly child did a full-armed shrug, as if it had just been caught red-handed with its hand in the cookie jar, and wasn't the least bit ashamed about it. " _I t   s t i l l   w a s n ' t   e n o u g h ,   t h o u g h .   I   k n e w   I ' d   n e v e r   b e   s a t i s f i e d   u n t i l   I   w a s   c o m p l e t e l y   i n   c h a r g e   o f   t h e i r   b o d y .   A n d   t h e r e   w a s   o n l y   o n e   w a y   I   c o u l d   d o   t h a t ._ "

The child's smile widened to the largest Sans had yet seen it. " _I   h a d   t o   m a k e   s u r e   F r i s k   e r a d i c a t e d   e v e r y b o d y .   E s p e c i a l l y   y o u ,   S a n s y ._ "

Sans didn't even wince. All he did was add more hate to his glare.

" _Y o u   k n o w ,   k i l l i n g   e v e r y o n e   o v e r   a n d   o v e r   a n d   o v e r   a g a i n ;   i t   g o t   s o   b o r i n g   t h a t   I   w a s n ' t   e n j o y i n g   m y s e l f   a n y m o r e .   B u t   y o u ,   o h o h o h o h o   y o u ,   S a n s y . . ._ "

Everything about the child now gave off the vibe of a perverted masochist. " _F i g h t i n g   y o u   w a s   s o   m u c h   f u n !   I   n e v e r   f e l t   m o r e   e x h i l i r a t e d   f i g h t i n g   a n y o n e   e l s e !   I   w a s   h a v i n g   s o   m u c h   f u n ,   w h e n   I   f i n a l l y   g o t   F r i s k   t o   k i l l   y o u ,   I   w a s   a l m o s t   s a d   t h a t   I   c o u l d n ' t   k e e p   e n j o y i n g   o u r   t h r i l l i n g   f i g h t .   A l m o s t   s a d   e n o u g h   t o   c o m p l e t e l y   r e s e t   t h e   t i m e l i n e   r i g h t   t h e n   a n d   t h e r e ;   j u s t   s o   I   c o u l d   e x p e r i e n c e   t h a t   e x h i l i r a t i n g   f i g h t   w i t h   y o u   a g a i n !_ "

It would be a wonder if the glare in the skeleton's pitch black eye sockets became any more fervently hateful.

" _T h e   t e m p t a t i o n   w a s   s o   s t r o n g ,   s o   e n t i c i n g ,   b u t   y o u   o u g h t   t o   p r a i s e   m e   f o r   n o t   g i v i n g   i n t o   t e m p t a t i o n ,   S a n s y ._ " The look in the spectral child's big, unblinking eyes was one expectant of praise. " _H a v i n g   F r i s k   k i l l   y o u ,   g a i n i n g   t h e   E X P   t h a t   i n c r e a s e d   m y   L O V E ;   I   b e c a m e   t h e   s t r o n g e s t   I ' d   e v e r   b e e n   s i n c e   s t a r t i n g   t h i s   t i m e l i n e   j u m p i n g   g a m e .   I   w a s   f i n a l l y   a l m o s t   s t r o n g   e n o u g h   t o   t a k e   F r i s k ' s   b o d y   a s   m y   o w n ._ "

"so why didn't you?"

The child's ghostly image became very still. Not a single emotion could be read in its big, unblinking eyes, or anywhere else on its face.

"you claim you had the power. you claim it would've been easy to get rid of frisk once and for all. but after the reset, in the timeline directly following the one you had frisk kill me...i no longer sensed what i now recognize to be your blood lust holding as much sway over frisk as it did before. so, what gives?"

With an expression as confused as it was loathsome, Sans asked, in genuine curiosity, "why didn't you completely take over? what happened to you two after i died?"

The child did not immediately answer. But, under Sans' constantly vigilant gaze, he saw that the ghostly image produced by the fragmented soul began to tremble. The tremors, though numerous, gave off the sense that they were controlled, like the child was forcefully keeping bottled up an intense, rising rage.

" _. . . A f t e r   d i s p a t c h i n g   y o u ,   o n l y   t h e   k i n g   a n d   t h a t   a c u r s e d   f l o w e r   s t o o d   b e t w e e n   m e   a n d   t o t a l   d o m i n i o n ._ " Its voice sounded just as restrained as its tremors. " _T h e y   w o u l d ' v e   b e e n   t o t a l   p u s h o v e r s   c o m p a r e d   t o   y o u ._ "

Sans' sockets widened a little in slight surprise. _ _ _ __‘____ would've’? _

" _V i c t o r y   w a s   w i t h i n   m y   g r a s p .   I   c o u l d   t a s t e   h o w   s u c c u l e n t   i t   w a s .   D o   y o u   r e a l l y   w a n t   t o   k n o w   w h a t   h a p p e n e d   t o   u s   a f t e r   y o u   d i e d ? ?_ "

The gauged-out holes returned to the image's appearance, though this time, it looked as though an inky blackness was leaking from them. When its voice spoke again, it was finally peppered with some other emotion than sadistic joy: the full, unbridled rage it had been forcing itself to contain.

" _ **T h a t   I N S O L E N T   M O R O N   b r o k e   f r e e   o f   m e   e n o u g h   t o   t u r n   t h e   k n i f e   a r o u n d   a n d   K I L L E D   T H E M S E L F   b e f o r e   I   c o u l d   m a k e   t h e m   t a k e   e v e n   a   s i n g l e   s w i p e   a t   D E A R   O L D   D A D .   A n d   i f   t h a t   w a s n ' t   b a d   e n o u g h ,   w h e n   I   t r i e d   t o   m a k e   i t   s o   t h a t   w e   e n d e d   u p   i n   f r o n t   o f   t h e   k i n g   a g a i n ,   t h e y   h a d   t h e   A U D A C I O U S   G A L L   t o   m a k e   t h e   e n t i r e   t i m e l i n e   C O M P L E T E L Y   R E S E T .   T H E Y .   R U I N E D .   E V E R Y T H I N G .**_ "

In all the timelines he lived through, after every truth he learned that night, Sans never looked more utterly shocked than he did at that very moment. His eye sockets wide, every joint in his body feeling stiff, he stole a fleeting glance to the still sleeping child curled up beneath his jacket, a sense of prideful wonder briefly washing over him. _they...they did that?_

" _A n d   i t   j u s t   k e p t   g e t t i n g   w o r s e   f r o m   t h e n   o n   o u t ._ "

Sans immediately refocused his gaze back onto the ghostly child, and immediately saw that its eyes were no longer leaking, gauged-out holes, and that it was no longer shaking in restrained, bottled-up fury.

" _A s   f u n   a s   i t   w a s ,   f i g h t i n g   a n d   k i l l i n g   y o u   t u r n e d   o u t   t o   b e   t h e   b e g i n n i n g   o f   m y   d o w n f a l l ,_ " the spectral child confessed, its eyes gleaming brightly with subdued hatred. " _I t   m a d e   d e a r   F r i s k   f i n a l l y   t a k e   a s   t a n d   a g a i n s t   m y   w i l l ,   e v e n   t h o u g h   t h e y   d i d   i t   s u b c o n s c i o u s l y .   B u t   I   w a s   o p t i m i s t i c   t h a t   a   f e w   m o r e   r e s e t s ,   a n d   t h e y   w o u l d   s l i p   u p   e n o u g h   t o   p u t   m e   b a c k   i n   m y   r i g h t f u l   p l a c e   a s   t h e   o n e    i n   c o n t r o l ._ "

Another guiltless shrug the image of the child gave, its head shaking side to side like it was disappointed in itself. " _T h a t   t u r n e d   o u t   t o   b e   a   d u m b   i d e a .   E s p e c i a l l y   w h e n   t h e y   b r o k e   f r e e   o f   m e   e n o u g h   t o   g e t   t h e   ' g o o d   e n d i n g ' ,   a n d   r e n d e r   m e   i n c a p a b l e   o f   f o r c i n g   t h e   r e s e t ._ "

Sans' sockets widened again. "that...that's why everything here and now hasn't been reset yet?" he muttered, stealing another fleeting glance at the human child asleep on the cavern floor. "because frisk was subconsciously stopping you from having your way?"

The ghostly child made the motion of clapping its hands, though not a sound came from the intangible body parts. " _G o o d   o n   y o u   f o r   f i n a l l y   p i e c i n g   i t   t o g e t h e r ,   S a n s y ._ "

The skeleton scowled at the obvious insincerity.

" _F a i r   w a r n i n g ,   t h o u g h .   I ' d   b e   r e a l l y   d i s a p p o i n t e d   i n   y o u   i f   y o u   s a y   y o u   b e l i e v e   t h i s   ' e n d i n g '   w i l l   e v e r   s a t i s f y   m e   t h e   w a y   i t   s a t i s f i e d   e v e r y o n e   e l s e ._ "

Sans' shoulders tensed at the sudden, dark tone the spectral child's voice suddenly adopted.

The child propped one of its elbows in the opposite hand, and perched its chin in the palm of the propped up hand, giving off the appearance that it was deep in thought. " _H o w   i s   i t   t h a t   I ' m   t h e   o n l y   o n e   t h a t   c a n   t r u l y   s e e   h o w   u t t e r l y   b o r i n g   p e a c e   i s ,   S a n s y ?   T h e   t h r i l l   o n e   g e t s   f r o m   k i l l i n g ,   t h e   r u s h   t h a t   c o m e s   f r o m   e n d i n g   a n o t h e r ' s   e x i s t e n c e ;   t h a t ' s   t h e   s p i c e   t h a t   m a k e s   l i f e   w o r t h   l i v i n g .   O t h e r w i s e ,   i t   j u s t   b e c o m e s   s o o o o o o   d u l l   t h a t   i t   s i c k e n s   m e ._ "

Its head tilted slightly to the side, its smile posing curiosity. " _S o ,   S a n s y ,   w a n n a   t a k e   a   s t a b   a t   f i g u r i n g   o u t   w h a t   I   p l a n n e d   t o   d o   t o   m a k e   l i f e   f u n   a g a i n ?   I n   t h i s   g o d f o r s a k e n   ' e n d i n g ' ?_ "

At first, Sans couldn't figure out what the after image of the child was getting at. But, as he thought about it, the beginning of a theory formed in his skull. And as that theory expanded, he came to a dark realization. "it was you." His dark eye sockets showed anger as they bore into the transparent child's eyes. "you were the reason frisk kept having those nightmares. you're the reason they were almost driven to..."

He couldn't finish the statement, but with the way the spectral child's smile grew, he knew it knew what he was going to say.

" _M y   p o w e r   t o   t r i g g e r   t h e   r e s e t   g r e w   w e a k e r   a n d   w e a k e r   t h e s e   l a s t   f e w   t i m e l i n e s ,_ " the ghostly child explained as it removed its chin from its perch, and folded its arms across its transparent chest. " _I t   b e c a m e   s o   w e a k ,   i n   f a c t ,   t h a t   t h e   o n l y   t i m e   I   c o u l d   t r i g g e r   i t   i n   t h i s   t i m e l i n e   w a s   w h e n   F r i s k   d i e d .   E v e n   t h e n ,   w e   w o u l d   o n l y   r e s e t   t o   m o m e n t s   b e f o r e   t h e y   d i e d .   A n d   t h e n ,   t h e   b a r r i e r   w a s   b r o k e n ,   a n d   a n y   h o p e   o f   m i n e   t h a t   F r i s k   w o u l d   g e t   k i l l e d   a g a i n   w a s   d a s h e d   r i g h t   b e f o r e   m y   e y e s .   S o ,   o f   c o u r s e ,   t h e r e   w a s   o n l y   o n e   c o u r s e   o f   a c t i o n   t o   t a k e   s o   I   c o u l d   g e t   m y   ' g o o d   e n d i n g ' ._ "

Gauged-out holes replaced its eyes again. " _ **I   h a d   t o   c o n v i n c e   F r i s k   t o   k i l l   t h e m s e l f   a g a i n .**_ "

A jolt ran down Sans' spine. A jolt of unforgiving fury for this abhorrent 'thing' that had tried to set Frisk down that dark path of no return.

" _T r u t h   b e   t o l d ,   i t   w a s   a   l o t   e a s i e r   t o   b r e a k   t h e m   t h a n   I ' d   t h o u g h t   i t ' d   b e ._ " The expression on the spectral child's face gave off the impression that it was pleased with itself. " _I   w a s   p r e p a r e d   t o   w a i t   f o r   y e a r s   b e f o r e   I   w h i t t l e d   t h e m   d o w n   e n o u g h ,   b u t   I   r e a l l y   o n l y   h a d   t o   w a i t   f o r   j u s t   a   f e w   w e e k s ._ "

Its smile widened, showing hints of genuine cruelty. " _G u e s s   i t   r e a l l y   h e l p e d   t h a t   I   m a d e   a b s o l u t e l y   s u r e   t h e y   w o u l d   r e m e m b e r   o n l y   a l l   t h e   h o r r i b l e   s i n s   t h e y   c o m m i t t e d   u n d e r   m y . . . ' g u i d a n c e ' ._ "

In his pants pockets, Sans' hands formed tight fists.

" _I   w o n d e r   i f   t h a t ' s   w h y   y o u   t o l d   t h e m   y o u   d i d n ' t   w a n t   t o   k i l l   t h e m   t h i s   t i m e ,_ " the child pondered aloud. " _P e r h a p s   y o u   s h o w e d   m e r c y   t o   t h e m   b e c a u s e   a   p a r t   o f   y o u ,   h o w e v e r   s m a l l   i t   w a s ,   s u s p e c t e d   t h a t   g i v i n g   i n t o   y o u r   l u s t   f o r   v e n g e a n c e   w o u l d   m a k e   e v e r y t h i n g   b a d   a g a i n .   I   s u p p o s e ,   i n   a   w a y ,   y o u   w e r e   r i g h t   t o   t h i n k   t h a t   w a y .   I f   y o u   h a d   h o n o r e d   t h e i r   r e q u e s t ,   I   w o u l d ' v e   r e s e t   e v e r y t h i n g ._ "

The skeleton's arms began to shake.

" _I   w o u l d ' v e   m a d e   F r i s k   f a l l   b a c k   i n t o   a   b l o o d t h i r s t y   m i n d s e t ._ "

His shoulders started to tremble.

" _N o w ,   t e l l   m e ,   S a n s y .   A f t e r   a l l   y o u ' v e   s e e n   a n d   r e m e m b e r e d   a n d   u l t i m a t e l y   l o s t ,   w h a t   w o u l d   y o u   h a v e   d o n e   i n   t h a t   s i t u a t i o n ?_ "

His entire upper half was violently shuddering now.

With big, gauged-out holes boring into his face, the ghostly image of the child asked, " _ **W o u l d   y o u   h a v e   m a d e   y o u r   m o v e   t h e   i n s t a n t   t h e y   l e f t   t h e   R u i n s ,   o r   w o u l d   y o u   h a v e   w a i t e d   t o   s t r i k e   l o n g   a f t e r   I   m a d e   t h e m   C O U N T L E S S L Y   S L A U G H T E R   Y O U R   S T U P I D   B R O T H E R   A L L   O V E R   A G A I N ?**_ "

" _YOU-!_ "

Sans had barely scooted a single step forward before he came to a statuesque standstill. One hand had been partially pulled out of his pocket. His right eye socket had turned completely black.

The left burned blue with the intensity of a thousand suns.

The spectral child hadn't flinched an inch, even when Sans had almost attacked it. No; all it did was make its eyes return, and brought its left index finger to its mouth. " _O h ? _"__ it cooed innocently, its head tilting slightly to the right. " _D i d   I   s t r i k e   a   n e r v e ?_ "

Forced, quick, deep, shuddering breaths passed through Sans' mouth as he closed his eyes, and forced himself to tone down the intensity in his sockets. _k-keep your cool, sans. though it's weak, that 'thing' is still dangerous. don't let it play with you. just stay calm, sans..._

After one last drawn-out, shuddering breath was exhaled, Sans cracked a grin and lazily opened one returned-to-normal socket. "y'know, i'm finding myself in the position that i feel that i need to, once again, tell you how grateful i am."

The spectral child's head tilted more to the side. " _I s   t h a t   r i g h t ?_ "

He closed both sockets and nodded lightly. "yup. i'm grateful because, thanks to all that gloating of yours, you've completely convinced me."

Its smile widened. " _O f   w h a t ?_ "

When Sans opened both sockets again, they were so abysmally dark it was like they'd become two miniature black holes. "without a host, you can't reset the timeline anymore. i was already not gonna let you do it before, but now, i'm absolutely certain of this:" His smile widened greatly. " _i am **never** letting you have the opportunity to make our lives a living hell for your own amusement all over again._ "

The white pupils then returned to the skeleton's eye sockets. "so, really." He shrugged lazily. "you need to just hurry up and wither away into nothingness already."

The floating fragment of the human soul had been twitching and convulsing non-stop since it first became animated. Now, though, it wasn't twitching as much as it had before. The transparent image of its child owner it had formed around itself was doing something different, too. Its arms were hanging lifeless at its sides. Its neck was craned downward. Its head hung low, hiding its face from Sans' sight.

" _. . . W i t h e r   a w a y . . . ?_ " Its voice was different now, too. It was much smaller now, and far more emotionless. " _I   n e e d   t o . . . w i t h e r   a w a y . . . ?_ "

Suddenly, though not a sound was heard, the spectral child's shoulders and chest began convulsing as though it was letting out a laugh. " _O h h h h ,   S a n s .   S a n s   S a n s   S a n s   S a n s   S a n s   S a n s   S a n s   S a n s   S s s s s s a a a a a a a a n n n n n n s s s s s s s s . . ._ "

Needless to say, Sans was unnerved by the child's actions.

" _Y o u   s e v e r e l y   m i s u n d e r s t a n d   m y   n e e d s ,   S a n s y ._ " There was a growing darkness in the child's no-longer innocent sounding voice. " _I   d o n ' t   n e e d   t o   ' w i t h e r   a w a y   i n t o   n o t h i n g n e s s ' .   A l l   I   n e e d . . ._ "

Its fragmented soul became deathly still. Its head snapped up so quickly it would've broken every bone in its neck. Its face had become contorted and twisted, with giant, gauged-out holes leaking inky blackness replacing its eyes, and a wide, twisted grin leaking the same inky blackness tore its mouth wide open.

" _ **I S**_

_**A** _

_**N E W** _

_**H O S T !**_ "

Then, with blinding speed, the fractured soul of the demonic entity lunged straight at Sans.

Even in its deteriorated, fragmented state, the soul moved a lot faster than Sans thought it would. It also no longer formed the outline of a red heart. It instead bore striking resemblance to blood-coated fangs in the jaws of a wild, hungry beast. And, based on its trajectory, it seemed like ribs was on the menu tonight.

Sans had to move quickly. No telling what would happen if he let that 'thing' sink its 'fangs' into him. After waiting for it to get close enough, he dodged to the right, and thanked his lucky stars he was just a little bit faster than the 'fangs'. But dodging only once, he knew, wouldn't be enough. He poised himself to keep moving, to keep letting the soul chasing after him-

It happened in the split second after he had barely dodged the attack. The contorted face of the fragmented soul's demonic owner passed by Sans' face. The two faces were mere centimeters apart. With its torn smile widening even further, Sans heard a single word screeched out in an unholy tone:

" _ **P** _

_**S** _

_**Y** _

_**C** _

_**H** _

_**E !**_ "

Throughout the conversation between skeleton and demon, Sans had been standing directly between the 'thing' and another thing, so as to protect the second thing from the first. Since he had moved out of the way, there was now nothing standing in between the thing he was protecting and the 'thing' he was protecting it from.

White pupils shrunk. He _had_ misunderstood. The demonic entity was never aiming for him to be its new host. It was aiming to reclaim its old one.

It was aiming for Frisk.

Deep sleep had rendered the human child completely defenseless to the imminent danger rushing towards them. Thanks to Sans moving out of the way, no easier prey could have existed for the demonic entity. Sans wouldn't've been able to get to them before the demonic entity did. It was finally going to have its way again. It was finally going to reset the timeline, and make it so that, by the time it was done, it would have its own physical body again.

" _ **S E E**_

_**Y O U** _

_**I N** _

_**H E L L ,** _

_**S A N S Y !**_ "

Rhythmic, demonic screeches was the demon's way of laughing. Its jaw-like soul opened wide, lunging for the helpless child who's soul it would, through countless repeated timelines, finally consume.

Finally, it had won.

...Or so it thought.

Its fragmented soul was mere millimeters away from Frisk's exposed face when, suddenly, it had stopped. No matter how much it vainly struggled, it could not break free of the power that had taken complete hold over it.

A power, as it came to realize, that had turned the crimson hue of its 'fangs' into a deep, deep blue.

The incorporeal image of the demonic entity's physical appearance slowly, stiffly, turned its head around. Like it hadn't any bones in its neck at all, its head did a complete one-eighty turn, and through giant, gauged-out holes leaking inky blackness, it saw the skeleton's raised left arm, the bony hand at the end of it coated in a burning blue aura.

"what?" His tone casual and his right eye closed in a wink, Sans' burning blue left eye was trained upon the demonic entity's incorporeal face, a wide, twisted grin of his own on his. " **You think i didn't expect you to pull such a dirty trick?** "

The entity's torn mouth smiled a smile so big and twisted, it took up most of its face. And that was all it was able to do before Sans finally took the kiddie gloves off. "here we go."

 

\----

Up, down, left, right, back, and forth the skeleton flung the fragmented soul around the cave, making it collide into its many surfaces so hard, impact craters were left behind and the whole cave shook with each collision. With each flick of his wrist, with each swing of his arm, Sans threw the soul around so much, it proved to be very difficult to tell just where he was flinging it.

But, as much as he swung and threw, he didn't do it with _total_ wild abandon. Before each swiping motion of his hand, he made absolutely certain the demonic entity's withered soul would not land within a three-yard radius of Frisk's slumbering form, even though he had taken the extra precaution of protectively surrounding Frisk in an air-tight dome of summoned bones.

He had already slipped up once.

So, this time, he was going to make damn well sure the parasitic demon would _never_ touch Frisk again.

Loud, ungodly screeches came from the demonic entity's splintered soul as Sans flung it around the cavern. But these screeches, Sans knew, was just its own twisted way of cackling like a mad man. Considering what it had told him before about their last fight, the laughs he heard were joyous ones.

The perverted thing was _enjoying_ this.

That, however, did not stop Sans from using every ounce of his power to permanently purge the world of this unholy hell-spawn.

One downward swing of his arm, and the demonic entity's soul was thrown straight into the place where the pit to the underground had been sealed up. It fell with such an impact, Sans could feel the vibrations of the seal giving an unhealthy lurch beneath the soles of his feet. Perhaps it truly wasn't as sturdy as others claimed it to be.

" _ **S . . . S o . . . y o u   W E R E   h o l - o l - o l d i n g   b a c k . . . t h e   l - l - l - l a s t   t i m e . . .**_ "

Hearing it speak once more, Sans didn't lift the demonic entity's soul back into the air again. All he did was stare it down, his burning blue eye scrutinizingly studying the state it had ended up in after all the flinging.

Its voice had become even more dissonant than before, and it had struggled to complete its statements. The transparent after image of the demonic entity's once-human form was still present around its soul, though it was looking very worse for wear, to say the least. The image glitched like a computer error, and around its edges, it looked like bits and pieces of it had been sanded down, broken off. Cracks of varying sizes and lengths etched its contorted face, making its face resemble that of a broken porcelain doll's.

The actual soul itself, what had been left of it anyway, looked just as bad as its barely maintained after image did. It now looked like a tiny piece of gum that had been chewed on way too much, and acted as lifeless. With his grip around it, he could feel that it was no longer fighting against his restraining hold. Still, he kept it blue, even as its dissonant voice continued taunting him, " _ **G u e s s . . . y - y o u   w e r e   s t - i l l . . . h o l d i n g   o n t o   t h a t   R I D I C - C U L O U S   h o p e . . . t h a - a t   y o u   c o u l d   b e - e - e . . . F R I E N D S . . .**_ "

Sans had to give it credit; The demonic entity's soul certainly lasted far longer than he thought it would, so much so that Sans considered this the last time he underestimated human DETERMINATION. "hell if i should know," he replied with a shrug. "memories about that fight got a little fuzzy after i died."

A ghoulish, screeching sound was heard; the demon had let out a chuckle. " _ **T h e y - y - y ' r e   n o t   t h E   o n - O n - o n - o n l y   o N e s ,   I   s e - e - e - e E .**_ "

The remark made Sans' smile lessen the tiniest bit.

The glitching image's smile widened, making the cracks on its face lengthen, deepen. " _ **Y o u ' r - r - r - r e   s U C h   a   H Y P O - P O - P O - P O - P O - P O C R I T e ,   S a n S Y - y - y .   I ' m - m - m   p r e t T y   s u r - u r - u r - u r e   a L l   t h i s - s   V I o l E N c E   c o u - u - u - u - u n t s   a S   t r y - y - y - y i n g   t O   k i - i - i l l - l l - l l - l l   a n o t H E r   p e - e - e r s o n - n - n - n . . .**_ "

Sans did not immediately reply. His expression darkened, the smile on his face almost forming a frown. The glitching image's smile continued to grow, only to cause more cracks to form.

"...true."

Without turning around, yet taking great care that they still remained safe as he did it, Sans removed his right hand from his pocket, and used it to take down the protective dome of bones around Frisk's body.

"but i made them a promise. and i have every intention on keeping this one."

His left hand kept the withered soul in place. The right hand he slowly raised into the air. As it rose, giant, skeletal heads began forming in the air around where he kept the soul pinned down.

"and, besides..."

Dozens of Gaster Blaster heads surrounded the demonic entity's fragmented soul. Sans' twisted grin stretched from ear to non-existent ear. The flaming blue energy in his left socket burned bigger and brighter than it had ever burned before.

" **I'd hardly consider something as wretched as you a 'person' anymore.** "

The last thing Sans heard coming from what was left of Chara's soul was another round of demonic laughter.

Then he made each Gaster Blaster open fire.

 

\----

"hah...hah...hah...wow. n-never seen...a soul disintegrate l-like that... well...f-first time for everyth-thing, eh?"

Even the simple process of breathing had become a chore for the skeleton now. As the burning blue in his left eye socket fizzled out, he kept his starting-to-waver sight focused on the spot where, moments ago, what was once a fragment of a human soul had been.

His desire to be thorough had paid off; not even the tiniest shred of the soul had survived his attack. But, looking at it now, he couldn't help but feel the smallest bit embarrassed about how his thoroughness had left a big, gaping hole in the seal that was supposed to be impregnable. "oops," he muttered, one hand sheepishly scratching the back of his skull. "i guess, when s-someone else comes along a-and sees this...it'll be a... _ground-breaking_ d-discovery, heh..."

He was so worn down that he could barely laugh at his own joke. After letting the hand that scratched at his skull fall lifelessly to his side, he began slowly, woozily walking away from the final resting place of the soul he had just so devastatingly obliterated.

"hah...hah... h-hey, frisk?" he called out to the sleeping form he was slowly approaching, his breaths getting heavier by the second. "h-hey, guess what, kiddo? i-i finally did it. y...yeah, i was f-finally able to properly keep a promise. a-and, better yet...i-it was the one...i made to...to you..."

He fell to his knees by Frisk's side. He had to keep one of his arms on the ground to keep his weight supported, though he knew that wouldn't last for long. The other arm reached out to the child still sleeping beneath his jacket, his shaking hand gently patting their head.

"yeah...it's all over now, frisk." His body swayed, his vision went dark. "maybe now...we can finally...get some proper...rest..."

It was then that the skeleton collapsed. With his hand still near the child's head, he became so still he looked like a skeleton that had never been alive at all.

The sky outside the cave was dark. The snow storm started showing signs of finally stopping.

 

\----

"...n't really think they'd go... _there_ , do you?"

"Who can say, Tori? But, don't worry, I'm sure we'll find them soon."

"I...I truly hope you're ri-huh? O-oh... _oh_...!"

"Wha- _oh!_ "

"E-Everyone, come here! Quick! W-We found them! _We found them!!_ "

"SANS!! FRISK!! O-OH, THANK GOD. _OH THANK GOD..._ "

"'Oh thank god' is ri-whoa, what the _hell_?! This place looks like a _war zone!_ "

"I-It sure doe-wh-what the-? Th-there's a big hole in the seal! H-H-How could that've happened?!"

"I think we can afford to worry about that later! Let's get these two out of here first!"

"Oh, my child...y-you're so _cold_..."

"SANS, Y-YOU AND FRISK SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH! D-DON'T...DON'T YOU _EVER_ DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!"

"Y-Yeah! I swear, if you two d-dummies don't pull through this I'll _kill_ you both!"

"Th-That's kind of counter-productive, Undyne... S-Still! Y-You two had better be okay! G-Got it??"

"I, TH-THE GREAT PAPYRUS, W-WILL _NEVER FORGIVE_ YOU IF YOU DON'T G-GET BETTER IMMEDIATELY! D-DO YOU HEAR ME, SANS!? FRISK?! I'LL _N-NEVER_ FORGIVE YOU..."

"Your house is closest, Tori. L-Let's take them there."

"Y-Yes... oh, my dear child...please be alright..."

 

\----

_"This is for your own good."_

_"Forgive me for this."_

_"You're our real enemy."_

_"You hate me, don't you...?"_

_"I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN."_

_"j u s t g i v e u p . i d i d ."_

_............................................_

_............................................_

_............................................_

_"nah. i'm rootin' for ya, kid."_

_"NO! WAIT! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!"_

_"No, that's not true! My friends like me! And I like you, too!"_

_"Well, some humans are OK, I guess!"_

_"You are our future!"_

_"Your fate is up to you now!"_

_"i'm rootin' for ya, kid."_

_"i'm rootin' for ya, kid."_

_**"i'm rootin' for ya."** _

\----

"...uhhhnnnn..."

A small moan escapes your mouth as you regain consciousness. Your eyes don't immediately open; you feel too tired to force them to. Wherever you are, you're laying down on your back, on something so soft and comfortable you briefly wonder if it's a cloud. You feel no need to move yet, either. You're so comfortable, wherever you are, that you don't want to stop experiencing this sensation.

Then you remember the events that happened before you lost consciousness.

You suddenly have the need to at least open your eyes.

They flutter multiple times before you're finally able to keep them open. The first thing you see is a ceiling; a ceiling illuminated by gentle morning sunlight pouring through a nearby window. There's something familiar about this ceiling, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Slowly, you lift your head, and your weary eyes begin to take in your surroundings.

You're laying in a bed that's way too big for you. A vase of golden flowers is near the window the sunlight was coming through. Seeing this vase, you realize exactly where you are.

You're in Toriel's room.

No sooner did you realize this that you felt that someone was holding your hand. Your vision is still adjusting, but you can see a familiar monster kneeling by your side, fast asleep and steadfastly holding the hand closest to your side of the bed.

It's the monster you've recently made the habit of calling 'Mom'.

Toriel isn't the only familiar monster you see. Sitting in a giant chair against one wall, Asgore is also sound asleep, and he's snoring loudly. Against the wall just opposite of the foot of Toriel's bed, Undyne and Alphys sit side by side, leaning against each other as they peacefully snooze away.

Everyone, all the monsters you've formed bonds stronger than steel with, all the monsters you consider your dearest friends, your family; they're all there with you. Everyone, except...

Since you didn't initially spot them, you figure they must been in a different room. But you want to see them; one more than the other, however. You need to see him. You need to talk to him. You move to sit up-

That's when a strange sensation overwhelms you, makes you cringe and fall back down onto the bed.

A shuddering gasp leaves your mouth as the back of your head plops back onto the feather pillow. Your next few breaths after that also shudder, and your free hand clutches the front of your shirt, directly over the area in your chest where the strange sensation is the strongest. You can't find the words to describe it, but you feel like you can compare it to something like a weight that's been shed. Like the last remnants of a serious illness had completely passed through you. You can't find the proper way to describe it.

But, somehow, you feel like whatever happened to you was a good thing.

"hey."

The whispering voice directly to your left makes you flinch. Your hand still clutching your shirt, you turn your head to the left, and immediately meet the gaze of the one you'd been meaning to see. "Sans."

Your voice is weak and croaky when you try it. It also makes you realize the dryness in your throat, so you swallow some saliva to see if it helps. It does, a little, but you decide to keep talking to a minimum for now.

Sans is on the side of Toriel's giant bed directly opposite to yours. He's laying down in a position similar to yours, and you can see that his brother is mimicking Toriel, in the sense that he was sound asleep, kneeling by Sans' side on the floor, and was steadfastly clinging to Sans' hand that was closest to the side of the bed. Sans’ other one is casually laying across his torso. His head is turned toward you, and the smile on his face is the most at ease smile you've ever seen on him. Ever.

"how ya feelin'?" he asks, keeping his voice to a minimum so as not to disturb those still sleeping around the room.

"I feel...strange," you answer in complete honesty, the grip you have on your shirt fidgeting slightly. "I...I can't describe it..."

His head gives a slight, pondering nod. "is it a good strange or a bad strange?"

You shrug your shoulders slightly. "...Good, I guess."

"i see...that's good." His smile widening a fraction, he turns his head toward the ceiling. "that's good..."

"...Sans?"

He turns back toward you, giving you a curious look. "hmm?"

"What...what happened to me?"

You're not sure how you know, but something like a gut feeling tells you that, whatever this sensation inside you was, Sans had some part in it. He was the only one with you when you fell unconscious, after all. Surely, he must have some idea about what happened after you passed out. And, since he's also in the same position as you, you get the feeling that something might've happened to him, too.

If he _does_ know, his expression certainly isn't giving anything away. With a wink, he says to you, "i'll tell you all about it later, okay? right now-" He breathes in deeply through his nose holes as he turns his face back toward the ceiling. "-it's still nap time."

There's something different about Sans. You can tell there's something that's changed with him. Maybe it's only the fact that, in your eyes, he looks more well-rested and at peace than you've ever seen him before. Would the conversation he planned to have with you later reveal why he looks this way?

A frown curves your mouth. As quietly as you can, you adjust your position slightly to make yourself more comfortable.

"...for now, i'll tell you this much."

Did he sense that not getting a straight answer from him wasn't doing anything to make you feel better about the strange, unknown sensation in your chest? You guess that's what it was as you look back over to him.

He's turned his head back to face you again. He reaches the arm on his torso out toward you, and he's just barely close enough to touch your arm with the tips of his bony fingers. "just know that...everything's gonna be okay now." The gentle smile on his face becomes more gentle, more genuinely happy. "i promise."

The way he says this, the way he makes this simple promise to you; it makes you wholeheartedly believe in every single word. _Sans..._

He starts to pull his arm away. Before it gets too far, you unclasp your grip on your shirt and catch his hand in yours. "Sans?"

"hmm?"

You're not exactly sure why you're compelled to say what you say next, but you say it with a smile on your face, and tears of gratitude brimming your eyes. "Thank you."

After a moment's silence, Sans returns your smile in kind. "no problem, kiddo."

"...Sans?"

"hmm?"

"...I love you."

You say this platonically, and you're once again not exactly sure why you felt the need to say it at all. You mean, he already knows this, right?

Still, his fingers gently wrap around your hand, and you hear him reply, in a shaking-with-emotion voice, " _...i love you, too, frisk._ "

You both fall back asleep, your hands still holding each other's. You know, once everyone wakes up, you both had a _lot_ of explaining to do. But, for now, you're peacefully filled with determination.

Determination to always remember how much you're loved and wanted.

Determination to live out the rest of your life surrounded by those who love you the most.

You're determined to live to the _better_ end.


End file.
